Market voices on:

"I don't think he's much of a chess player, but I've got him so, you know, that's what I have," added the president, who earlier questioned on Twitter who was "our bigger enemy," Mr Powell or Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Asked if he wanted Mr Powell to resign, Mr Trump replied: "Do I want him to resign? Let me put it this way, if he did I wouldn't stop him."

Mr Powell was in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on Friday for a meeting with other central bankers. He said the Fed would "act as appropriate" to keep the US economy healthy in a deteriorating global economy but stopped short of committing to a series of rate cuts sought by Mr Trump.